Once upon a time a beautiful princess found her handsome prince. 
They were married in a splendid wedding.
But the prince had to travel for long months at a time. He carried with him a little sock monkey to pose for pictures in ports of call to send to the princess when he could. After a time his travels were ended and he was home to stay.
On the day it was announced the princess was having a baby, I knew exactly the quilt I would make to celebrate the child. Julie had an adorable appliqué set of a sock-monkey alphabet. I bought it! Instead of using both the boys & the girls, I wanted to make the quilt according to the gender of the baby. In the meantime, the search was on for fabric with small figures for each of the letters.
Finally it was revealed that the princess was carrying a man-child. Oh! the excitement! Now my big rush was on to find just the right “boy” fabrics to complete the quilt.
But then the heart-rending news came that all was not well with the baby, he was found to have a congenital heart issue that would require extreme measures to correct immediately after birth and for years after.
At this juncture I could tell the quilt-making was going to extend beyond Teddy’s baby shower & birth; so my goal was to finish by the time he was able to leave the hospital.
From the very start of his life on the outside, this plucky little guy was a fighter. 
He bravely jousted with every procedure his condition required of his caregivers. His Grandma would keep us updated on facebook. Every morning/evening we’d look for news of Teddy’s latest victory. She’d relate to us his conversations with the world he was about to conquer.
Then one day came the wretched news that the villain CHD had overpowered our hero Teddy. We. were. crushed.
I was roughly halfway through embroidering the blocks. But in a conversation with his bereft mommy, we decided I’d go ahead & finish the quilt to honor his memory.
It was tough! I’d cry over the fabrics I’d chosen for appliqué because I would remember this one was picked up for Dad’s favorite sport, or that one because Grandma loves gingerbread men…
But with a little help from a friend
(actually, very little help…)
I got to the point where I could piece it all together.
THAT was fun
but not as fun as binding.
There was just SOOOOOOOO much “help” to be had!
After all was stitched, bound, clipped & laundered, I even got some assistance removing all the lint…
Anyhow, here is my tribute to a brave lad. Stitched with love & prayers for his mom & dad - his grandmas & grandpa - his aunt & uncle - his extended (extensive!) family…
If you know a “heart baby”, pray for him/her & the family.
Sometimes they almost live at the hospital. Sometimes they live separately because there are ones to care for at home. 
Thank you Teddy, for reminding us to live life with our whole heart.
)
